From the History of the USA

Buy custom From the History of the USA essay

The Truman containment policy was a doctrine that was made in the United States in response to a crisis. The main objective of the policy was to “contain” Communism. This was especially on the Eastern part of the Iron shutter. In other words, it aimed to control the spread as well as the expansion of Communism. It was also aimed partly to ascertain US control in European nations. The Truman Doctrine reflected the USA as the leader of a world that is free. This means, a world that is democratic and capitalist. The Truman policy, moreover, worked towards preventing the formation of governments that incorporated any communist elements. However, The Truman Doctrine, and the containment policy negatively affected the US-USSR relations. This is because; The Soviet Union perceived Truman’s principles as forceful. This was very menacing to their government system.

The policies that the US practiced were mainly the cause for the outbreak and the emergence of the Cold War. This was from 1945 to 1949. This is because; the policies the US had on the Cold War were very anti-Communist. Therefore, the reason behind Truman’s actions was the ideology and containment policy of the United States. A good example is the Truman Doctrine. This increased tension amid the Soviet Union together with the United States. Finally, this resulted in the Cold War.

During the Yalta Conference that was held in February 1945, the US government called for the unconditional, demilitarization, surrender and denazification of Nazi Germany. Stalin, thus, granted Poland the right to hold democratic elections. Truman, as a result of Roosevelt's death, came to power. When he attended the Potsdam Conference he disclosed to other world leaders that the US possessed a weapon of unusually destructive force.

The years 1946 and 1947 had a major role in the structuring of the USA’s Cold War policies. According to George F. Kennan’s Long Telegram published in 1957, the USSR engaged in warfare with capitalism. This telegram established that Socialism and social democracy would never get along. This meant that Soviet aggression and historic Russian paranoia were the same. It also meant that the Soviet governments did not allow precise pictures of realism. This telegram, commonly known as the Long Telegram played a key role in establishing the basics for the policies. The USA soon set out to destroy Socialism as it was considered an enemy to democracy. 1947 also marked the year when the Second Red Scare and McCarthyism took place. The Red Scare represented a period in history of anti-communist fear. The Red Scare was made worse by the notion of McCarthyism. At this period, any person suspected of supporting Communists or Socialists were investigated and targeted. Thousands of Americans were arrested as a result. The media also played a great role as they exaggerated their leftist views. This increased insecutity, fear and suspicion in the Red Scare. The consequence of this was that many people lost their jobs while others were sentenced to jail.

2. The second reconstruction refers to the American National War. The conflict began soon after the Second World War and it aimed at abolishing racial segregation and discrimination in America. During the second reconstruction, African Americans were able to redeem themselves and regain their political and civil rights. The most prominent feature of the second reconstruction was that there was political realignment in America. Majority of African Americans abandoned the Republican Party in favor of the Democratic Party. The Reconstruction was soon followed by Redemption. This period was distinguished an increase in conservatism on the federal government, as well as on several Supreme Court decisions. These decisions, as a result, destabilized the capacity of civil rights reforms. The effect was prevalent mainly in the Northern States.

There were several civil rights movements in America. These included the Harlem Renaissance and the Brown vs. Board of Education among others. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka was a land mark decision made by United States Warren Supreme court on May 17, 1954. The land mark declared the previous state laws that ensured the establishing separate public schools for white and black students were unconstitutional. This court ruling overturned the Ferguson vs. Plessey decision of 1896 which advocated for state-sponsored segregation. The court decision stated that "detached educational amenities are inherently disproportionate." As a consequence, de jure racial segregation was declared an infringement of the equivalent protection article of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States constitution. This ruling paved the way for integration of all people irrespective of their race and civil rights movement.

The Harlem Renaissance began as a result of changes that had occurred in the African American community since slave was legally abolished. These changes were further hastened by the outcome of World War I. another catalyst to the movement was the great social and cultural changes that occurred in early 20th century in the United States. Industrialization was attracting people to urban areas from the rural areas and as a result, this gave rise to a new mass culture. Some of the contributing factors that lead to the Harlem Renaissance were the First World War, which had produced new industrial employment opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people and the Great Migration of African Americans to northern cities in America. This in turn led to the concentration of ambitious people in areas where they could hearten each other. Thus, the movement emerged stronger and more determined than ever.

Harlem is a section of New York City. In the early 1900s, mostly in the1920s and early 1930s, African American literature started to thrive in Harlem. The New Negro association, the New Negro revitalization, and the Negro Renaissance were names referring the African American movement that was aimed at fighting for the blacks rights in America. This movement came forward towards the end of the First World War in 1918. The Harlem Renaissance marked the crucial moment in American history when the mainstream writers and critics took African American literature seriously. This is because; they realized that African American literature and arts were gaining significant attention from the world as a whole. Although it was mainly a fictional movement, it was very much related to progress in African American theater, music, politics and art. The Harlem Renaissance seemed to be the best of times for America to recognize and appreciate the African American people. The Harlem renaissance main objective was to fight for equality. However, once the great depression came about, the Harlem renaissance collapsed.